The Ultimate Guide to Interactive Videos

Discover how to create interactive videos that captivate audiences and enhance CX.

As a marketer and customer experience (CX) professional, you know that capturing and retaining audience attention is becoming increasingly difficult. In a world where users crave more control, personalization, and engagement, one type of video is emerging as the solution to this challenge: Interactive videos. 

But what exactly are interactive videos, and how can they be used to boost engagement, drive conversions, and enhance CX? In this guide, we’ll explore the growing trend of interactive videos, the benefits they offer, the different types, and the tools you can use to start creating your own interactive content.

What are Interactive Videos?

Interactive videos are more than just videos you watch—they’re videos you engage with. Unlike traditional videos where viewers passively consume content, interactive videos allow users to actively participate by clicking, making choices, answering questions, exploring additional content, and even determining the course of the video in real-time. They are a proven method to provide a dynamic and engaging experience, communicate complex ideas, and drive results. 

Common interactive elements can include: 

• Quizzes and polls: Put the viewer’s knowledge to the test or receive real-time feedback. 
• Clickable links: Provide links for viewers to click on to receive more information, contact your business, or access additional information. 
• Choose your own adventure (CYOA): Allow viewers to make decisions that influence the direction of the video, personalizing the experience. 
• Clickable hotspots: Enable users to click different areas of the video to reveal more information.

These elements turn passive viewers into active participants, offering not only a more engaging experience but also a memorable one.

Importance of Interactive Videos

Interactive videos are rapidly becoming more common, offering an innovative way to re-engage audiences as attention spans shrink, traditional media becomes stale, and competition for engagement increases. 

Consider Netflix as a prime example. In recent years, the streaming giant has embraced interactive content to differentiate itself from competitors, boost viewer engagement, and increase the time users spend on the platform. Netflix now offers a range of interactive videos, spanning from children’s cartoons to survivalist shows, demonstrating its commitment to this format across multiple genres and audiences. But what makes interactive videos so effective? 

5 key reasons for the growth of interactive videos: 

1. Increasing Engagement: Prompt viewers to actively engage, leading to longer watch times compared to passive videos.
2. Enhanced CX: Viewers have control over the content, allowing them to explore in-depth product details or receive personalized information, improving their overall experience.
3. Personalization and Relevance: Content is tailored based on user input, providing a personalized experience that resonates more deeply with what the audience wants to see. 
4. Actionable Insights: Valuable data is provided on how viewers are interacting with the video. This data can be used to refine future content strategies to make all videos more effective, not just interactive videos. 
5. Increased Conversions: Guide potential customers down the sales funnel more efficiently by allowing them to explore products and make decisions in real-time, leading to higher conversion rates. 

Benefits of Interactive Videos

Interactive videos offer a range of benefits across various industries and functions. Whether you’re in advertising or education, creating interactive videos can lead to the outcomes you desire. Here are six benefits that make interactive videos a must-have in your content strategy.

Higher Engagement and Retention

By allowing viewers to choose their own adventure or answer a question increases their investment in the outcome. This engagement naturally translates into higher retention and completion rates compared to traditional videos.

Improved Learning Outcomes

Interactive videos are instrumental in educational and training content. Features like multiple-choice quizzes and knowledge checks keep learners engaged, ensuring they comprehend and retain the material better. 

Personalization

We know that personalization is important in static videos, so why not interactive videos, too? Personalize content based on user choices and preferences to deliver content they are interested in.

Data Collection

As viewers make decisions in interactive videos, they create valuable data patterns about which elements they clicked, the content they were interested in, which decisions were made, and where they dropped off. This user behavior is crucial in forming and optimizing future interactive videos and campaigns. 

Better Conversion Rates

Interactive videos can drive higher sales or conversions because viewers are choosing the information they want to see and learn more about. As the content is meeting their specific needs at that time, they are more likely to engage with it.

Increased shareability

Interactive videos are often more fun and engaging, making them more likely to be shared on social media platforms. Spotify Wrapped is a great example of a personalized, interactive video that is widely shared across networks. 

How to Make Interactive Videos

You may think that creating interactive videos is too complex for the typical marketer or CX professional, but it can be quite simple with the right strategy and interactive video software. Here are six steps to guide you in how to make interactive videos that captivate and engage your audience.

Step 1: Define Your Strategy

Before jumping into video production, you want to clearly outline the purpose of your interactive video. Is it meant to train employees, enhance customer experience, or increase conversion rates with prospective buyers? Define your goals and audience as your first step, as this will influence the storyboard, script, and interactive elements you incorporate. 

Step 2: Choose Your Interactive Video Software

Choosing the right interactive video software for your goal and experience level is key to bringing your vision to life. We’ll go into more detail in the “Interactive Video Software” section, but factors such as ease of use, customization options, data integration, and more will dictate how to choose the correct interactive video tool.

Step 2: Decide on the Interactive Features

Once you’ve outlined your strategy and the features available in your interactive video software, decide which interactive elements will best serve your goals. You can choose quizzes or polls to test your audience’s knowledge and reinforce learning (best for employee training) or you can choose clickable links to allow viewers to explore products further or make a purchase (best for increasing conversion rates). 

Step 3: Write Your Storyboard and Script

Creating a storyboard is crucial for interactive videos. Unlike traditional videos, you need to map out where the interactive elements will appear and how they will integrate into the narrative. Write a clear, concise script that incorporates the interactive moments in a logical flow. In this free eBook, discover best practices for creating a captivating video.

Step 4: Create the Video and Add Interactive Features

Now it’s time for the fun part: adding interactive elements and bringing the video to life! Using your selected interactive video software, add embed quizzes, decision points, or clickable elements into the video. Make sure these elements are intuitive and enhance the viewing experience, rather than interrupting the flow.

Step 5: Test, Publish, and Promote 

Before publishing, you’ll want to test your interactive video to ensure the interactive elements function as intended, the flow is logical, and the customer experience is user-friendly. Once you’re happy with your interactive video, publish it on your desired platform and promote it across channels. 

Step 6: Analyze Performance and Interaction Data

The last step is to analyze the performance of the interactive data. You can learn a lot about viewers during this phase. Ensure you use this valuable data to form and optimize future interactive videos and campaigns. 

Interactive Video Examples

For inspiration, these are four different interactive video examples that you might want to use. 

Interactive Training Videos

A company can create interactive training videos to educate employees on different topics. For example, a compliance training video might include decision-based scenarios where employees choose how to respond to a specific situation, receiving feedback based on their choices. This method enhances engagement and reinforces learning.

Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA)

CYOA videos offer a highly personalized experience that keep viewers invested in the outcome. Netflix’s “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch” is a famous example of an interactive video where viewers can make decisions that influence the storyline.

Product Videos

In e-commerce, brands have used interactive videos to let viewers explore products, customize designs, and make purchases directly from the video. In one product interactive video example from Nike, the viewer chooses how they would style a new product. This type of video creates an engaging and unique shopping experience.

Marketing Campaigns

Brands can also utilize interactive videos in their marketing campaigns, allowing users to click links and choose what they want to learn more about. These types of videos make the marketing process fun and personalized and can also be used across channels, from YouTube to Instagram Stories. 

Interactive Video Software

An interactive video wouldn’t be possible without the right interactive video software. This decision can dictate the success of your project, so you want to choose wisely. Many companies turn to SundaySky to create all different kinds of interactive videos. 

SundaySky is an AI-Powered Enterprise Video Platform that makes creating, personalizing, and distributing video at scale simple. Create professional-quality interactive videos with easy-to-use templates, an AI Copilot, creative themes, advanced text-to-speech narrations, music, and more. With data integrations with leading companies such as HubSpot, Adobe Marketo, and Salesforce, it’s easy to integrate your customer data, so you’re creating interactive videos in minutes, not months. 

Conclusion

Interactive videos are opening a new door for many businesses to improve how they communicate with audiences and train employees. Whether you want to boost customer engagement, improve learning outcomes, drive sales, or increase CX, interactive videos provide an innovative and effective solution.

With traditional video production techniques, creating interactive videos could be a timely and complex process. But with the right interactive video software, you’re on the right path to building a highly rewarding video experience. As the digital world continues to evolve, join the many companies following the steps of Netflix and Nike to embrace interactivity. 

Interested in learning how you could create interactive videos with SundaySky? Book a 30-minute demo today.